Leaving Orléansville, the train runs to the N.E., near the Chélif, to (135 M.) Pontéba. Fine view, to the left, of the hill-region on the E. margin of the lower plain of the Chélif. 140 M. Le Barrage, near the largest reservoir of the Chélif. The train sweeps round to the S., away from the river, and traverses a fertile and well shaded plain to (146 M.) Oued-Fodda (522 ft.), a small town of 5300 inhab., near the left bank of the Oued Fodda, through whose valley peeps the three-peaked Ouarsenis (see above).
In the Plaine des Attafs, as the very monotonous central plain of the Chélif is called, we next come to (148 M.) Temoulga-Vauban, at the foot of the bare Jebel Temoulga (1749 ft.; with iron-mines), to (162 M.) Oued-Rouïna, and (166 M.) Kherba, the station for a village 3 M. to the N., on the margin of the Dahra Mts.—To the right, in the foreground, rises the range of Jebel Doui (3409 ft.), whose spurs bound the central Chélif plain. To the left, for a short time, we have a *View of Jebel Bou Maad (4643 ft.), generally snow-clad in winter, and of Jebel Zaccar Gharbi (p. [212]). 171 M. Duperré (820 ft.), at the foot of Jebel Doui, near the ancient Roman Oppidum Novum.
The train crosses the Chélif above the influx of the Oued Ebda. To the left, in the river-bed, is the pier of a bridge on the old Roman military road. We now pass through a defile between barren hills; to the right we have a glimpse of the broad upper plain of the Chélif. 178½ M. Littré or Les Arib (853 ft.), in the Plaine des Aribs, at the foot of the Dahra. 184 M. Lavarande (945 ft.), on the spurs of the Zaccar range.
186½ M. Affreville (1020 ft.; Rail. Restaurant, with rooms, good; Hôt. de l’Univers, in the village, next to the diligence-office, R. 2, B. ½, D. 2 fr.; Hôt. du Haut-Chélif; Hôt. de Vaucluse, near the station, well spoken of; pop. 2000), at the foot of Jebel Zaccar Gharbi, is one of the stations (Miliana-Margueritte being the other, see p. [211]) for Miliana (6¼ M.; diligence 3 times daily, 1 fr.; carr. 10–12 fr.), and the starting-point for Teniet el-Haâd.
The Excursion to the Cedar Forest of Teniet el-Haâd takes a day-and-a-half (motor-omnibus, 5 or 6 fr., in ca. 3 hrs.; diligence, leaving at 11 a.m., returning at 9.40 a.m., in 8 hrs.; carriage 50 fr. or more, hardly recommended). To the E. of Affreville, beyond the market (Thurs.) and the Oued Souffay, our rather featureless road diverges to the S. from the Dolfusville road; it leads among eucalyptus trees to the (2¾ M.) Chélif, and then, beyond (7½ M.) Le Puits (971 ft.), ascends by the Oued Massin through an almost uninhabited part of the Tell Atlas, between hills thinly clad with pines. 10½ M. Pont-du-Caïd (1329 ft.); 16½ M. Caravansérail de l’Oued-Massin; 22 M. Marbot (2287 ft.). Beyond the 39th kilomètre-stone (24½ M.) we observe on the right the curiously shaped sandstone rock of Jebel Hadjra Touïla. We then cross a pass (2920 ft.), whence We have a pleasing view of the valley of the Massin behind us, to (27½ M.) Dutertre on the Oued Rouïna.
36 M. Teniet el-Haâd (3806 ft.; Hôt. du Commerce, R. 2, déj. 2, D. 2½ fr., tolerable; Hôt. de la Colonie, humble; pop. 2100), the starting-point of caravan-routes to Tiaret (p. [208]) and to Chellala and Laghouat (p. [215]), situated on one of the most important passes of the Tell Atlas, owes its name (‘Sunday Pass’) to its Sunday market, attended chiefly by the inhabitants of the Plateaux du Sersou (p. [208]). On the E. side of the little town lies the poor ‘Village-Nègre’ (comp. p. [181]).
The *Cedar Forest of Teniet el-Haâd, on the slopes of Jebel el-Meddad (5863 ft.; ‘cedar-mountain’), to the W. of the town, is still the finest in Algeria, although largely cut down of late and bereft of its primæval character. The Atlas cedar (Cedrus Atlantica Manetti), with its silvery and very short needles, and of gnarled and often fan-like growth, is smaller and less showy than the Himalaya cedar (Cedrus Deodora Roxburg) and the cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus Libani), but in a few cases attains a circumference of 30 ft. The cedars are mingled, particularly in the lower parts of the forest, with evergreen or holm oaks and cork-trees (Quercus ilex, cenis, and suber). The excursion to the forest, as far as the Rond-Point and back, takes 4½–5 hrs., or including Kef Siga 6–7 hrs. (Mule, obtained from the natives, or horse, from the Bureau des Messageries, 5 fr.; carr. from the latter, 20–25 fr., hardly advisable as the road is bad.) The road to the (8¾ M.) Rond-Point leaves the highroad to the S. of the town, but riders and walkers take a short-cut from the W. side of the town, thus saving about 1¼ M. In about 40 min. we come to the Parapluie, on the right side of the carriage-road, an umbrella-shaped cedar on a rocky height on the N. slope of the Kef Sachi (5134 ft.), and in 25 min. more to the forester’s hut (gourbi forestier) of Pré-Maigrat. The finest parts of the forest are near the forester’s house at the Rond-Point des Cèdres (4889 ft.; rfmts. if required), on the N. margin of the Jebel el-Meddad, where the Sultane, one of the grandest of the cedars is pointed out. From the Rond-Point a steep zigzag path ascends to a saddle with a pasture in a clearing (on the right), where we dismount, and whence we climb over the rocks to the top of the Kef Siga (5624 ft.), the N.W. peak of the ‘cedar-mountain’. The *View embraces the whole of the Ouarsenis group (p. [209]); to the E. rise the mountains of Boghar; to the N. the Zaccar range with Miliana. To the S. we survey the Hauts-Plateaux, with the bare hills of Chellala, as far as the distant Jebel Amour (p. [170]) in the Sahara Atlas.
From the Rond-Point we may ride on to the W. to (5–6 hrs.) Beni-Hindel (p. [209]).
The train crosses the Oued Boutan. It then runs to the N.E., soon with a retrospect of the Ouarsenis Mts., and ascends the luxuriantly fertile valley of the Oued Souffay, between the Zaccar range and Jebel Gontas (2858 ft.), to (193½ M.) Miliana-Margueritte or Adélia (about 1700 ft.), the station for Miliana, 5½ M. to the W. (reached by steam-tramway, in connection with the trains, in ¾ hr.), and for Margueritte (p. [212]; diligence).